6 Kitchen Hacks That Will Simplify Your Life

Ever found yourself in the kitchen but don’t have the required tools to accomplish a task? Fret no more. Here are 6 simple kitchen hacks that will come to the rescue.

1. A jar won’t burge open? Use a rubber band instead

You just bought a jar of your best pickles or sauce but you just don’t have the muscle to open it. Instead of buying a jar opener, try a rubber band. All you have to do is stretch a thick rubber band around the jar lid and give it a twist and voila! The rubber band will give you a better grip than using a piece of cloth.

2. Peel ginger using a spoon

Ginger has rather thin skin and sometimes when peeling it with a knife or vegetable peeler, one tends to peel off some chunks of the ginger’s fragrant flesh along with the skin. The easiest and best way of doing so is using a teaspoon. Simply grasp the spoon at the base of the bowl and scrape its edge down the ginger root. It’ll shave off just the tough skin and you’ll have more than enough ginger to cook with.

3. Use a flexible cutting board as a funnel

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If you’ve ever poured your grandchild a cup of lemonade that he didn’t touch or served too many chips at a party, you know the pain of trying to pack food back into its original container. Fortunately, a flexible cutting board is just the ticket. Roll it into a cone, with one end small enough to fit into your chosen carton or bag. Then, commence pouring. No mess, no fuss.

4. Poach an egg in a microwave

This process of poaching eggs is super easy and only takes a minute. It the best method especially when in a hurry. Crack the egg into a microwave-safe bowl, pour in about 1/3 cup water with a bit of vinegar, cover the bowl or mug with a microwave-safe plate, and cook for a minute.

5. Juice lemons, limes and oranges using tongs

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Many a time you find yourself in need of a quick refreshing cup of fresh juice but you just don’t have a citrus press or juicer, which results in you using your bare hands which can sometimes be tiring especially if you are making a jar full of juice. Squeezing the fruit with your bare hands can be a bit messy and you might not attain the quantity you desire as some juices are obviously left. That’s when a set of tongs comes in handy. The high grip keeps your hands clean while giving you extra leverage to squeeze out every last bit of juice. It works best with lemons and limes, though oranges are okay, as well. Do it over a coffee filter or sieve to catch errant pits.

6. Use a chef’s knife to peel garlic and pit olives

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Thin, papery garlic skin can be a real pain to remove, but you don’t need a special garlic peeler when you have a chef’s knife. Just place the garlic on a cutting board, put the widest part of your knife blade flat across it and thwack the blade with your fist. (Important: Lay the blade FLAT, parallel to the cutting board, so you don’t cut yourself.) By doing this, you loosen the clove from the skin making it infinitely easier to peel them. This technique is also great for pitting olives.